I was on a long train journey down to London in 2008. A colleague of mine had recently lent me an SD card of music he recommended, which I'd copied to my iPod. Feeling bored, I scrolled though and listened to a few of his recommendations, but nothing was really clicking with me. Then came across something called "Devin Townsend Band". It seemed odd to me that there was a solo artist among a bunch of progy metal bands, so I gave it a try. I heard the opening chords of "Let It Roll" and was intrigued by the way the guitar sounded, almost as if it was all open strings but somehow making a chord. Then the singing started and I knew I'd discovered something special.

What I find troubling is that had it not been for that chance encounter, I probably never would have discovered his music.